


The Burned Miner

by magicianparrish



Series: Halloween PJO Challenge [7]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: pjo halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-04-28 21:16:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5106035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianparrish/pseuds/magicianparrish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo becomes a burned miner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Burned Miner

**Author's Note:**

> Here is day seven! Leo is up. 
> 
> This was written weeks ago, and I haven’t read through it since then but I hope you all like it! 
> 
> Context: 1864, Nevada, United States in the Sierra Nevada mountains 
> 
> Terms: 
> 
> Transcontinental Railroad- a railroad line in the US that connected the East to the West
> 
> Nitroglycerin- an extremely deadly explosive used back then to blow through mountains 
> 
> gringo- spanish slang for white people 
> 
> James Howden- produced the nitroglycerin on sight of the job

**1864, Nevada, United States**

Leo Valdez came to America to be free. He was born in Texas, which had been a Republic when he was born before it had become a state. Now with the American Civil War ripping the nation into pieces the Union was hiring people left and right to finish something called the Transcontinental Railroad. He didn’t really know what he was signing up for, but it was a job and it was a mechanical one which Leo could do.

The bosses of this mechanical feat wanted it to be complete by the time 1869 came rolling around. It was 1864 at the current moment. It seemed almost impossible considering they had to blast their way through the Sierra Nevadas which had killed and trapped Americans going out west years ago. But the people were determined to do it.

As Leo lit his cigarette and straightened out his straw hat he was casually walking with his pickaxe over his shoulder. It was sweltering hot this morning and beads of sweat were already forming on his face. The white people watching over in their nicely tailored clothing were writing things down on their paper. Leo smirked and let out a wolf whistle.

“Hey gringos I hope your trousers don’t get too dirty today, would hate it if they got ripped!” he taunted.

They looked up with their monocles in their eyes and their bushy mustaches. They just gave him a glare before going back to whatever they had to do. For good measure he spit by their shoes making them scamper back like a rat had just ran past them.

“You dirty latino! Get back to work!” One of the more daring ones called out.

Leo just rolled his eyes and continued on his way to his post. There were other immigrants working on the railroad. Most were from China or Ireland but he had some spanish speaking ones as well. He started hacking at the limestone.

“We blowing up anything today chicos?” he asked.

“Oh yeah. And we volunteered you to do it. You’re the best with fire,” Miguel answered not looking up.

Leo just grunted in response.  There was truth the the statement. He was the best with fire and explosives. Plus he was getting paid to do this stuff, so he didn’t really care all too much. They hacked away for what seemed like hours, putting in the rails, nailing them together and laying wood in between them before putting gravel in between the planks.

“Valdez!” one of the gringos called.

He looked over to his friends with a smirk on his face lighting another cigarette and placing it between his lips.

“It’s show time chicos,” he said smugly before walking over to the gringo.

“Sí señor gringo?”

The tall man in nice clothes just grunted in response obviously not happy with Leo. He pointed to the cave that had been dug out over the past weeks. Leo knew what that meant. It was time to do the real dangerous stuff. He took the cigarette out of his mouth, tapped out some ashes before putting it back in.

“Blow up the cave further. We need to keep on schedule.”

“Sure thing,” he curtly responded before walking away to get the supplies.

He strutted away from the man making his way back towards the main tent where the explosives were kept. The ringing of the pickaxes echoed in his ears and the songs of all the immigrants singing to keep the time along with the gringos yelling at them to work faster so they can stay on track and save their own asses. Leo didn’t like it, but he dealt with it because without this job he’d be unemployed.

When he entered the shade he stopped for a second to look at all the wooden crates full of highly explosive elements. He’s done this a hundred times before, he was the best when it came to this stuff. Bottles were filled with gunpowder and nitroglycerin making it extremely deadly if you make one wrong move.

Leo wiped the sweat from his brow again. He took the cigarette out and dropped it on the floor stomping on it with his leather boots. He had to make sure it was out especially near something so deadly. He took a deep breath and walked over to the stack of crates. He picked up the one on top and started to make his way back over to the cave.

Every person who walked past them evaded him like he had the plague. No one wanted to step near someone who had the explosives in their hands. Leo kept his head high and his smirk present on his face. Even the gringos, who had assigned him to do this job took a couple of steps back and looked on with scared faces.

“Bet you gringos are happy you don’t have to do the dirty work eh?” Leo called out making himself and some others laugh at their uncomfort.

None of them responded that time. Which was smart on their behalf because Leo could easily just chuck one at them and kill them if he desired. But he was a decent human being and wouldn’t do that.

When he entered the cave, there were many people still digging out the rock. Torches dimly lit the dark place making the shadows bigger. As he walked further inside many stopped what they were doing for a second to see what Leo was up to. When they saw the wooden crate with the glass bottles their eyes would widen and they would start digging faster. Leo walked to the end of the cave where some others were waiting for them. They spoke broken english, which was enough for Leo. He spoke a whole different dialect from the gringos so he might as well be speaking broken english.

He gently put the box on the floor of the cave. The two men he was working with were Chinese immigrants. Their names were Tai Weng and Hua Jiang. They were around Leo’s age, twenty one and had the same hopes and dreams of every immigrant who stepped foot in America, the land of opportunity.

The three of them started digging holes to place the explosives inside. They worked quickly and diligently to get the job over and done with for the day.

“Wish I was with Howden making these chemicals instead of almost dying by them,” Leo muttered as he slowly poured a bottle of the deadly substance into the holes.

“That is just as dangerous as this job,” Tai Weng responded.

“At least I’d get paid more,” Leo muttered again.

Hua Jiang stood up from the ground where the holes were. He dusted off his pants and shirt and adjusted his hat. When Tai Weng and Leo were done they did the same. Leo cleared his throat.

“Explosion is about to happen! Everyone get out and stay away from the blast zone now!” he yelled down the cave.

Everyone else in there quickly stopped what they were doing and evacuated the place leaving the three of them alone. Leo quickly placed a little gunpowder at the edge of the holes so they would ignite faster and cause a bigger explosion.

Tai Weng and Hua Jiang watched on with anxiousness. No matter how many times they did it, it was still nerve wracking. This could be their final moments on earth, or they would live on to tell the tale. Leo stood up and turned towards them.

“Thank you, you may leave now. I will ignite the fuses.”

The two Chinese immigrants looked at each other with confusion written on their faces. They seemed to be having a silent conversation before turning back to Leo.

“We will not leave brother in here alone,” Tai Weng said.

Hua Jiang shook his head no. “We work together, we die together.”

In the dim lighting due to all the torches being snuffed out, he could barely see the two of them. But he could imagine their determination not to leave him alone to potentially die. And it made him feel really good. He had never had friends before, no one who wanted him. Leo had always been by himself. But ever since coming to work here, no matter how gruelling and terrible the work is, he made some great friends. Leo gave them a small smile. He took a deep breath in and did a long exhale. From his pocket he pulled out a lighter.

“Let’s get this show on the road boys,” he said with a smirk present on his face.

Hua Jiang and Tai Weng pulled out their own lighters as well and ignited them. They all slowly walked over and bent down in front of the holes where the nitroglycerin was. He could hear the two of them praying in chinese. He took the cross necklace that was from his mother and kissed it before putting it back under his shirt. He said a quick hail mary in spanish and prayed to his mother like he always did before he lit up explosives.

With calm hands he put the flame to the gunpowder which immediately ignited in a grand flame. Hua Jiang and Tai Weng followed and they stood up. The three of them looked at each other for a split second too long. A loud explosion went off sending Leo into the limestone wall. The intense heat seared off his skin and burned it.

The risk of explosives had finally shown it’s ugly face. Not everyone survived this. Leo Valdez was a burned miner.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Annabeth is on deck for tomorrow!


End file.
